Christmas Candy

Joe and I decided that we would try something different this year and give homemade goodies rather than the usual. I personally love getting this kind of stuff because, well, I love nearly anything edible. I found a recipe for an easy chocolate bark with cranberries and pistachios on the DMN that looks yummy. Another item that we are going to attempt is candied jalapenos. I must admit, I am a little nervous by the canning process...boiling and glass with Joe...it just sounds like a trip to the ER to me. We're going to try anyways.



So far the hardest part has been finding a recipe that we like. There are so many variations and we haven't tried them to have an opinion on which is best. I found two very similar recipes in the quantity of all ingredients except one...one called for 4 lbs of sugar and the other called for 4 cups of sugar. WTF?! I am confused. I'm going to buy supplies now. I'll be posting pictures of the process later. Wish us luck.

Parte Dos

I'm back from shopping and 4 lbs of sugar wasn't nearly as much as I thought. I looked it up and there are approx 9 cups in a 4 lb bag. That is still a quite a difference. I was able to get everything I needed at Wally World save the mason jars. I was probably looking in all the wrong places but I was so ready to get out of that place that I just decided to get them at Brookshire's instead. (Brookshire's is a grocery store for all you non-country folk.)

I took a much needed break from shopping and stopped at Starbucks for a Cranberry Bliss Bar and a Gingerslap Latte. Yes, GingerSLAP. That's was I asked for and the drive-thru guy found great amusement in my bumble. Glad I could make his day. It was pretty funny. See what WalMart does to ya? Freudian slips of repressed aggression taken out on innocent baristas.

I have now acquired all necessary ingredients for our night of candy making. Should be interesting...

Parte Tres

Made the "Festive Chocolate Bark" and it was really easy and yummy. I plan to make another batch in a day or so. I've started an artsy project that I'll share later.

I need some work on my food staging, but you get the idea.

Here's the recipe I found on the DMN website:

-1 cup shelled salted pistachios (if you're starting with nuts in the shell, about ½ pound)
-12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped, so it melts uniformly
-8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
-¾ cup dried, sweetened cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Lightly toast pistachios on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
Melt semisweet chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, uncovered, on Medium (50 percent power) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring twice. Remove from microwave oven before completely melted and stir until smooth (the remaining pieces will melt as you stir). Melt white chocolate separately following the same directions.
In a small bowl, combine nuts and cranberries. Stir half of this mixture into semisweet chocolate. Using a spatula, quickly spread the mixture to about a ½ -inch thickness on a large cookie sheet. Drop the white chocolate by tablespoonfuls over the dark chocolate. With the tip of a butter knife, swirl the chocolates together to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle remaining nut and berry mixture over top and lightly press into chocolate mixture.

Refrigerate the bark for about an hour or until firm, then break into pieces. Store bark in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month. To give as gifts, package in cellophane bags tied with ribbon.
Makes about 1 ¾ pounds.

SOURCE: Adapted from Family Fun magazine by Lisa Centala

The candied jalapenos are questionable. I think we heated them too long so they don't look like the ones you would buy at the store. All in all, the process was stressful. I figure we can try them in a couple of days before we dole them out. But really...how can you go wrong with 4 lbs of sugar? You could put 4 lbs of sugar on just about anything and it would probably taste good.